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randomfoggytiger · 1 year

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X-Files Collector's Edition: Friendship Fix (According to Various Authors) Part 1

Mulder and Scully didn't just gaze into each other's eyes and fall madly in love-- they had a relationship built on friendship before their switch flipped. These fics are a collection of different authorial takes on that friendship.

Loose chronological order below~

@we-mad-guys

Mulder is still distrustful of Scully; but she gives him a genuine compliment when they run into each other at the mall.

@sarie-fairy (Ao3)

Scully is still distant from her werid new partner; but she is still going to reach out to support him during an emotionally fraught meeting.

@ringsidehoney/kittenscully

Mulder is tense when Scully comes to his apartment for the first time. She, unlike Diana, likes it. (Ao3)

Solia (FFN)

Scully hates the sneers Mulder endures from his peers, feeling pressured to stand up for him. She does. (FFN)

@mldrgrl (Ao3)

Mulder engages Scully in a stakeout car game, fuming over her first crush and telling her his pet names.

Scully pet sits ONCE and Mulder's fish dies. She runs around trying to replace it in the 15 min. she has until his return.

@scullysexual/PostApocolypticAlien

Scully only sleeps on Mulder's shoulder in moving vehicles. (Ao3)

Scully shoves an agent mocking Mulder.

Mulder's nightmare drives him to call Scully. She talks to him all night.

Scully re-wraps Mulder's sloppy gift; and is surprised it's for her.

@debbierhea/thexfilesbabe/i-am-alittle-on-edge (WBM)

Mulder enjoys Scully "spying"-- she sees him all too clearly, and doesn't hold anything against him.

@msrafterdark (Ao3)

Scully is so stressed after a bad date that Mulder covers for her at work.

Alcott

Scully supports her dying friend. Mulder is shaken at how peaceful her passing was.

@muldertxf (Ao3)

Mulder has a no show witness-- but he runs into Scully, they dance, and he drives her home. (Ao3)

@melforbes/@claup/everydaymsr (Ao3, WBM)

Mulder surprises his new partner with a Christmas gift, sending Scully into a last-minute shopping spree.

@minuete-blog (Ao3)

Mulder tells Scully about his failure to save a little girl. She assures him he at least brought her family justice.

Scully and Mulder help a pooped-out Frohike after his intesively unsuccessful surveillance. (Ao3)

@agent-starbuck (Ao3, WBM)

Mulder and Scully swap never-done-before trivia.

Mulder concludes that North Dakota stares back at you.

mimic117 (Gossamer, xflostnfound)

Mulder is sent on a period run for Scully; and wants to shoot the perky assistant.

@scully/humancredentials's

Mulder is incredibly smug that competitive Scully is losing in a board game.

I would continue; but life (and sanity) is cutting me short. Rest assured, this project will be completed soon~

In the meantime--

Enjoy!

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love-me-or-leave-me-jg · 2 years

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Y entonces paso.

Sucedió lo que siempre temi.

Te convertiste en un extraño el cual no hace mucho solia amar con toda mi alma.

Eso dolio.

#amor #tumblr #popular #corazon roto #desamor #mentiras #cosas de la vida #love #corazon #dolor #un extraño #solia #eso dolio #sucedio #decir adios

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aquarisma-arts · 1 year

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Meet my current ttrpg OC Solia Goldfarb!

Halfling/half-orc ranger (kind of) and a 4 ft loudmouth

#my oc tag #original character #solia #ttrpg character

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mandala--moons · 1 year

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Unfinished Concept sketch of my ffxv OC Solia

#Solia #FFXV #Final Fantasy #OC #Concept #My art

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sands-of-amber · 8 months

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FFXIV Write Entry #2 Continued!

This is the pt. 2 to this piece because I uhhhh got carried away || Read it with notes on Ao3 here

“Oh, dear… This will not do. Here, I believe I have a handkerchief or something of the sort in my pocket…” Emet-Selch reaches into the roomy pocket of his coat, acting as though he’s fishing around for something. Hidden beneath the cover of the thick fabric he snaps his fingers, and almost instantly a gasp of surprise can be heard coming from behind Aelia. She turns to see that the woman who had bumped her and walked off was suddenly covered in her own glass of wine, the dark red stains tainting the elaborate teal fabric of her gaudy dress and causing several who had witnessed her stumbling to point and snicker under their breath amongst one another.

Emet’s lips twist up into a satisfied smirk as he glimpses his handiwork, but his expression instantly returns to a more neutral one as soon as Aelia turns back to face him.

“Aha, there it is.” He says, pulling a maroon colored cloth square from his coat pocket and holding it up for her to see. She reaches up to take it and begins to gingerly dab at the messy spot on her chest, trying to remove as much of the globs of icing that sat atop the fabric as she could. It was clear that a dry cloth wouldn’t be a sufficient means of removal for the rest of the mess, though, and as he notices her increasing distress at the hardiness of the stain he decides to speak up.

“Might I assist you with that? I believe I know a trick or two which might yield better luck in removing that pesky stain.” Solus says, catching her attention.

“Really?”

He nods. “Yes, but we will need better working conditions than this. There is a washroom nearby. Come with me.”

Unable to come up with a better solution, Aelia nods and follows him around the fringes of the ballroom and out into a hallway, noticing that his entourage of guards seem to have stayed behind. Solus turns a corner and steps through a doorway, beckoning her inside with him. On unsure feet Aelia timidly steps into one of the most extravagant washrooms she’s ever seen before. She’s too busy gawping at the sheer opulence of it to notice that he had shut the door behind them. Her family’s main washrooms at home weren’t even this luxurious, and this was just one of what was surely the palace’s many. The room was practically bigger than her own bedroom, and was immaculately kept.

“Here, sit.” Solus’s voice breaks her out of her reverie and she moves to sit upon the appointed bench, looking around at the neatly folded towels and jars of delicately scented potpourri, every little element of the room suggesting meticulous daily care by maids equipped with intense eyes for detail.

She hears the sound of the tap running and looks up to watch Solus as he begins doing something at the sink, though she can’t tell what exactly it is that he’s doing with his back turned to her. As she watches him, it dawns on her that she is completely and utterly alone with him, and that this is not even close to how she’d ever imagined in her wildest dreams a first meeting with the Emperor of Garlemald would play out. It strikes her as a bit odd that he’d take it upon himself to do something as mundane and tedious as this rather than just send her along with a maid to do it, but she wasn’t about to question the Emperor. Especially when he was seemingly showing her such kindness while she was still essentially just a stranger in his home, just another lowly subject.

When he spins around to face her he’s holding a damp cloth, and she notices that he’s removed not only his gloves but shed his heavy black overcoat and its regalia as well, having hung it neatly over an empty towel rack. The sleeves of his white undershirt are rolled up to his elbows, revealing his toned forearms, and for reasons she cannot explain she realizes that she finds this strangely and incredibly attractive.

Solus approaches her and crouches down to be eye-level with her, giving her a gentle sort of half-smile. “Is it alright if I touch you?” He asks, his lips pulling into a straighter line and his eyes searching hers for any sign of hesitation. The question gives her slight pause, its phrasing bringing to mind other less innocent implications and making her cheeks heat up, but she figures she trusts his intentions well enough and so she obliges.

“Y-Yes, that’s fine.” Aelia nods, which seems to please him because he smiles and inches a little closer. She takes a breath and holds it in her lungs unintentionally as Solus lifts the damp cloth to the fabric of her dress and begins to gently press and rub at it. Unable to ignore the butterflies in her chest with him this close to her now, she awkwardly turns her head to make it look like she is occupied with looking around the room—anywhere but straight ahead at him—and she hopes that he cannot feel or hear how fast and hard her heart is racing right now.

Seeing that she isn’t looking, Emet-Selch casually places his free hand in the pocket of his trousers and snaps his fingers once more, watching the stain on her dress disappear in an instant thanks to his covert magicks. In order to make it seem believable, he continues to work at putting on a show of rubbing out a stubborn stain, furrowing his brows in concentration and humming softly as he does so. Not only does this help him to keep his cover, but it also provides him with an excuse to be in contact with her for longer, he realizes.

“…There. All gone.” He finally says after a moment, pulling his hand away and admiring his handiwork. Aelia turns back towards him and raises her brows in slight disbelief.

“Really? It’s completely gone?” She asks, having thought that the stain would have surely set in and become too difficult to remove by any means other than a thorough and repetitive heavy cleaning. But sure enough, when she tilts her head down to look at the spot where the icing had been, there’s nothing there. Not only is the stain removed, but it appears as if it had never been there in the first place.

“Oh, incredible! There’s no trace of it at all!” She beams, running her fingertips over the slightly damp fabric and feeling nothing there but the silky material of her dress. “That’s amazing, how did you do that? What kind of cleaner do you-”

Solus chuckles and shakes his head, pressing his index finger to her lips to quiet her curiosity. “Never mind that. It’s just an old maid’s secret I picked up on. The important thing is that you shall leave here tonight with your dress none the worse for wear.”

Aelia’s eyes still hold a hint of curiosity and disbelief as though she wants to inquire further, but she thinks better of it and simply smiles and nods her head instead. “Thank you. You are very kind to help me with such a trivial matter. I’m afraid I’d have been wearing icing for the rest of the evening were it not for you.” She lets out a soft laugh.

“There is nothing trivial about a woman’s happiness, my dear. It simply wouldn’t do to have something tainting your enjoyment of the evening.” Solus says, one of his hands coming up to gently cup her jaw. Aelia’s face takes on a rosy flush, and she feels his thumb softly caress her skin as his head tilts and draws closer to her own. She swallows nervously, but she doesn’t pull away or oppose his advance, which the Emperor takes as a good sign.

“My lady Aelia… Shall we continue getting to know one another as we were before we were so rudely interrupted?” He asks, slowly rising to his feet and offering her his hand. She takes it and nods, a shy smile on her rosy lips as she allows him to help her to stand.

“I’d like that very much.” She says, smoothing out her dress and fixing the many layers of fabric adorning her person.

“Wonderful. Let us stroll the palace gardens. They shall make for a much more pleasant and quiet environment befitting conversation.” Solus says, stepping once toward the door only to turn and face her again. “Ah, but it probably wouldn’t do for us to be seen leaving this room together like this… You know how people like to gossip. Especially the servants.” He chuckles, giving Aelia a playful wink that makes her heart flutter.

“To make things look a little less suspicious, I shall go ahead and make for the gardens and in several moments’ time, you may come and find me there. If you are still so inclined.” Solus gives her a conspiratorial grin and bends down, taking one of her small hands in both of his. “Find one of the guards posted by the doors in the ballroom and I’ll let them know that they are to show you the way to me. I look forward to reconvening ere long, my sweet Aelia.”

And with that, the Emperor presses a kiss to the back of her hand and then straightens, giving her one last wink and holding up a finger to his lips as he slips out of the washroom, leaving her to reflect on what had just happened as the door clicks shut behind him.

Had that really just happened? Was any of that real? Was the Emperor of Garlemald actually flirting with her? Asking her to meet him alone in the garden… Sneaking out of the room separately so as not to be caught in a compromising position that could invite unsavory rumors… This all felt far too much like one of those campy romance novels her older sister Aurelia liked to read to be really happening, and yet try as she might she could not pinch herself awake.

With a sigh, Aelia places her palms upon the marble sink top and leans her weight forward over it, examining her flustered features in the large mirror. She combs her fingers gently through her bangs to fix them back into place, taking this moment of solitude to freshen up her appearance and wishing Valentina was here to give her one of her pep talks. Oh, Valentina was going to love hearing this story later on.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

#ffxivwrite2023 #ffxivwrite #ffxiv #emetwol #azemet #emet selch x wol #emet selch x azem #solus zos galvus #oc: aelia #emet-selch #my writing #solia #solus x empress

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ajthinks · 1 year

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Seasons of Solia

Solia is a sea-faring nation of islands located along the southern edge of Viency (near the equator) and trailing up along the west coast towards Garaeland. Only the very northern tip of the Chantia Isle occasionally gets snow once every few years.

The seasons of Solia, like nearly everything else in the island chain, is based on the ocean that surrounds the nation. There are three main seasons, two roughly lasting three months with the third lasting the other half of the year.

Upwelling (6 months): from the beginning of the year through the month of Chaos, the seas become steadily more violent before the first storm finally breaks against the islands.

Storm (3 months): from the month of Death to Knowledge represents the most dangerous time to be out on the ocean; every drop of the Lusehazy Ocean churns with chaos & water mana, sending bursts of lightning between sky and sea and back again; such a surplus of those mana types send the abaia into their yearly breeding frenzy, which adds another layer of danger to the season.

Marino “lull” (3 months): after the tumultuous times of storm season (Darkness to Stasis), the waters finally calm and the air stills; this is prime fishing and traveling season.

#Dungeons of Danrya #fantasy #worldbuilding #fantasy units #fantasy seasons #fantasy weather #Solia

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phoenixlegendary · 2 years

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Romeo Solia

#phoenixop #phoenixlegendary #Romeo Solia

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diofasolia · 4 months

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*add in a pile of huggers*

Happy birthday to you, @zu-is-here !!!! Thank you for always being an inspiring person and a friend, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and may all of your dreams come true (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

#my art #solia's drawing #*jazzy hands* courtesy hug(?#happy birthday have a digital cake 🎂#absolutely not being too shy to draw a face-to-face hug #original idea is to make a tarot card style #but hmmmm it accidentally turns out like I'm doing some kinds of ritual or sucking soul on Zu #oops sorry Zu #your soul is mine now (⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠)⁠つ⁠⊂⁠(⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠)

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bluepallilworld · 1 year

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*throw a cake with lots of flaming candles on it*

Happy birthday to you Blue!!! I hope you have a wonderful day (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

Aaaaaaaaaaw thank you Solia (⁠灬⁠º⁠‿⁠º⁠灬⁠)⁠♡

Wait a-

Aaaaaaaaaah the candles 🔥🔥🔥

Ouch ouch ouch XD

Day's just starting, I'm currently watching my first class of the day (it's online for once)

I drew that before sleeping ↓ so you can tell I was a bit excited CX

#ask #Solia #it my borth'#was a bit sad recently so I was excited for the day uwu #amazing sweetie Zuz sent me a dm right at midnight !!!!!!!!! I WAS SOOOO HAPPY #hugs for you Solia #lotta hugs for you #love ya #o⁠(⁠(⁠*⁠^⁠▽⁠^⁠*⁠)⁠)⁠o

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takethebodymarc · 8 months

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obsessed with calma calma joining roier's vocabulary

#qsmp #roier watchers él solia decir calma calma asi de seguido antes de cellbit?:D

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windy-trickster · 9 months

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⚡ Oh god there's another pair! 🎵

Come see what Argeni or Rastho have to say about you!

#judgement meme #argeni picric #rastho soliae

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alternias-madness · 5 months

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Hi! I'll be honest I'm in the middle of other things but first I completely forgot to show this >< Anyway!!!

I decided to draw @windy-trickster 's oc, Rastho, and my oc, Kielas, together ^^

I think it'd be nice if they talked about their respective moirails :) [Don't, let Kielas figure out how Rasthos moirail is treatin 'em /silly]

#Would love to say I drew the bg all by myself but thats a lie #Took a bg from pesterquest and edited it #Anyway #Fantrolls #Kielas Sebrif #Rastho Soliae #Alternias Artpics #This is in response to that old ask thing btw #Also hi James its wine anon #my art

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mandala--moons · 1 year

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Here have some Noctis/Solia angst.

#My art #FFXV #Noctis #Solia #Final Fantasy #Sketch #noctis lucis caelum

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sands-of-amber · 8 months

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FFXIV Write Entry #2

❀ Prompt #12: Dowdy || Read it w/ notes on AO3 here ❀

It wasn’t exactly Aelia’s idea of enjoyable, but she would manage through the evening. She would mingle with other young women and men of high society and dance and curtsy until the last bells of the evening tolled, all to please her parents and perform the duties expected of her as the daughter of a noble house. She wouldn’t be thrilled about it, but she would at least pretend to enjoy herself if nothing else.

Truth be told, she disliked the way people in the upper circles of Garlean society interacted with one another. It was all so fake and fabricated, and hardly anything ever felt genuine. Watching her parents and older sisters partake in the social performances had always been bad enough, but now that she had come of an age where she was expected to do so more and more herself, well… One could say she began to loathe her family’s place in the political and social spheres.

And now here she stands in one of the Imperial Palace’s grand ballrooms, shoulder to shoulder with many other youths of her standing all dressed to the nines. The sounds of string music lilt through the air, providing a background to the chatter and the clinking of glasses and heeled shoes on marble floors. Gatherings like these were almost always entirely about affirming one’s standing within the social hierarchy and forming beneficial connections with others in one’s sphere, and she knew her parents were sitting at home just hoping that she’d meet some handsome gentleman her age who would sweep her off her feet and offer an advantageous match for their family.

If she had her way, she’d have run off to be an adventurer or a mercenary or enlisted in the military as a medicus or some such. The boring and disingenuous lifestyle of playing housewife to a man who was more like a business partner than a husband and being a stay-at-home mother hardly appealed to her in the slightest, though she knew that such was, depressingly, her inescapable fate.

“Aelia, look!”

The voice of her childhood friend, Valentina, breaks her out of her thoughts, and she quickly looks up from the drink in her hand that she’d been unconsciously staring into and turns her head toward the direction in which the other woman is pointing. “It’s him!” Valentina whispers.

Her eyes land upon the figure in question, tracking him as he weaves through the crowd across the ballroom floor flanked by several guards. It’s hard to get a good look at him from here, but there’s no mistaking that it is indeed the Emperor—the host of this grand event himself. It felt almost surreal to be in the same room as someone so essentially mythicized as he was, almost as though she hadn’t been expecting him to actually be a real person, a real face behind the illustrious reputation and name of Emperor Solus zos Galvus. For all that her family held some degree of influence in politics, she herself had never even come close to being in the same room as the Emperor, much less attended an event hosted by the man in his own palace.

Valentina grumbles in frustration as she bobbles about on her tiptoes, trying to see over the crowd. “It’s impossible to see anything from here… Come on, let’s move a little closer.” She grabs Aelia by the wrist and is immediately met with resistance.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Aelia asks cautiously, hesitantly looking back and forth from her friend to the small crowd that has formed on the other side of the room. “He already appears to be getting quite swarmed from the looks of it…”

“Oh, come on,” Valentina tugs her again, urging her forward. “We won’t get that close. Just close enough.” When Aelia still hesitates, she raises a brow and adds, “What, don’t tell me you’re shy…?”

“Absolutely not!” Aelia frowns at her friend’s teasing smirk, shaking her head defiantly. “Fine. But just a little closer. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, yes?”

This response seems to please Valentina, who happily pulls a sighing Aelia across the ballroom floor a bit closer to where the Emperor stands presently engaged in vapid chatter and greetings with a small crowd of guests. The young men clamored to be acknowledged by him, and the young women did so twice as much. This was supposed to be a sort of coming of age celebration for the newest generation of Garlean nobles, so it made sense that those in attendance would be trying their best to be seen. But Aelia still thought it a bit hard to watch the way they’d throw themselves at him so shamelessly.

From this new vantage point, she can see much more of him. He’s tall, and good looking, and he carries a regal and commanding sort of presence clad in his many layers of military regalia and furs. He couldn’t be much more than four or five years older than she herself, yet he carried himself with the weariness and weight of a man who had been ruler for decades. His tired aurum eyes suddenly flick up and lock with hers, and Aelia quickly sinks back down into the crowd.

“He’s quite handsome, isn’t he?” Valentina chuckles, breaking her out of her head for a moment.

“I suppose so.” Aelia replies indifferently, though her heart is pounding just from the simple act of locking eyes with him from across the room. She sees the look on Valentina’s face and instantly knows that she must be visibly blushing, her body betraying her words. What even was that? All from a simple look? Had she simply been starstruck just like the rest of them? Perhaps it was just the effect he had on everyone…

“My lady? Excuse me,” A voice rises above the rest of the noise, and both Aelia and Valentina look back up to see none other than the Emperor himself weaving his way towards them. They both freeze in place, the crowd around them parting to make way for His Radiance as he moves toward the intended recipient of his attention.

Solus comes to a stop right in front of Aelia, smiling down at her and giving her a friendly nod. “Good evening, I could not help but notice your striking presence from afar.” He says, bending slightly to gently take one of her hands and press his lips to the back of it, eliciting a collective hushed gasp of surprise from the room around them. “What is your name, my dear?”

Aelia has the sudden urge to pinch herself from what must certainly be a dream, her mind going blank from just how abruptly everything was happening in this moment. She blinks, staring up at him wordlessly for a moment before she finally finds her voice and forces herself to speak. “My name is Aelia, Your Radiance. Aelia goe Olearius.”

“Aelia… I see. An apt name for a lovely woman with an even lovelier soul.” Solus smiles, relishing in the way she blushes and how she seems to be just as captivated by him as he is by her. There is hardly any mistaking it up this close—he’d know the color of her soul anywhere. Inside this crowded ballroom hers shone like a beacon, all others looking exceptionally dull by comparison. Even her eyes are the same; the striking blue hue that had captivated him thus all those millennia ago served to draw him in just the same now.

As the two are locked in their own little moment, murmurs and hushed whispers of surprise and annoyance from the envious women in attendance spread around the room like fire. “Who is she?” One hisses, “What’s so special about a senator’s daughter who can’t even be bothered to make a proper impression?” “Who in their right mind shows up to the Emperor’s ball looking so dowdy? Would it have killed her to put in a bit of effort?”

Several snicker amongst themselves, poking fun at Aelia’s relatively “plain” choice in dress given the occasion. She was by no means wearing rags—her dress was made from rich silks and her hair and makeup had been done by her handmaiden—but compared to the incredibly gaudy and flashy dresses and hairdos worn by many of the women here hoping to show off and be noticed, her ensemble was relatively lowkey.

Suddenly painfully aware once again that they are surrounded by others, Emet-Selch feels a tinge of annoyance rising in his chest but keeps it from showing outwardly. Ignoring the rather strong urge to simply grab her and run away with her to a far more private location away from the rabble, he clears his throat and offers her his hand.

“Would you care to come with me? We can move to a slightly less populated area so that we may be able to speak a bit easier. I shall have another drink fetched for you, as well.” He smiles, hoping and praying that she feels the same pull that he does and that she will indulge him in this.

Aelia looks over to Valentina who gives her a reassuring smile and a nod of encouragement, stepping back and retreating into the crowd to give the two of them space, though not before giving her best friend one last glance and a wink. As Valentina melts into the sea of partygoers, Aelia turns back to the Emperor and nods, taking his offered hand.

Thrilled, Emet-Selch smiles triumphantly as he leads her across the floor toward the much less crowded fringes of the room, the sea of people parting respectfully for them as his guards flank the two of them. They move unhindered in what is essentially a little bubble that floats effortlessly out of the crowd. This night was turning out to be far more fortuitous than he’d ever imagined. He’d found her, here in Garlemald of all places—and he’d be damned if he let some halfman here swoop in and try to take what was rightfully his. Fractured as it was now, her soul still bore a tiny, almost indiscernible speck of the essence of his own soul. It was small, but it was there. That meant that at least Hydaelyn and the sundering hadn’t broken their bond; that much was still intact and he was pleased. Seeing it drove something possessive within him and all he wanted to do was whisk her away and claim her like he should.

But he knows that he’s going to have to play the long and agonizingly slow game here. So instead, for now at least, he takes her over to a significantly less busy spot at the edge of the room, one where they aren’t standing in the very middle of a sea of gawking onlookers, and orders a servant to fetch her another glass of her preferred drink as well as a drink for himself. As they stand and make light conversation, he is suddenly struck with an incredibly vivid memory of one of the Convocation’s New Years’ celebrations that had taken place not long after she had taken office as Azem. It had been the night that he—encouraged by Hythlodaeus of course—had finally confessed the true depth of his feelings to her.

How much simpler things were then.

“So, I take it you are the daughter of Senator Olearius?” Solus asks, more for the sake of conversation than true curiosity. He already knew the answer, for her family name was rather prominent among the cabinet and in the political sphere at large. Aelia nods.

“Yes, Your Radiance. Well, I am his youngest, anyway. One of three daughters.” She answers. The servant from before reapproaches them with a tray and hands them each their drinks, and she takes hers with a polite smile and a word of thanks. Aelia raises the glass to her lips, hoping a second drink will take some off the edge off for her poor pounding heart which feels primed to burst from her chest at any moment.

Solus chuckles softly, “Please, no need to retain the stiff honorifics. ‘Solus’ is fine.” He says, giving her a lopsided grin that makes her insides flutter. She nods sheepishly after a beat, and he seems pleased enough with her apparent acquiescence to move on. “So you have sisters, then. How lucky I am that you were the one they sent to me tonight.”

Aelia finds herself blushing furiously, almost in disbelief that this conversation was even happening. What did he see in her? Were his words genuine or empty flattery much like the typical Garlean noble was keen to engage in? Perhaps he sought to get on her good side to get to her father, but what good would that truly do him? He was Emperor after all, he didn’t need to go around buttering up the members of his cabinet to get his way. But then what reason did he have for approaching her specifically? Was it possible that it was simply genuine interest?

“Your- er, Solus, I must confess, I-”

She gasps as someone bumps shoulders with her and something cold and soft suddenly touches the front of her dress. Upon looking down to inspect herself she sees that some kind of pastry has been smushed against her chest and now sits at her feet in crumbled pieces, its icing having come off on her dress and left a big messy yellowish stain at the point of impact.

“Oh my! I’m so very sorry!” The woman who had bumped into her exclaims loudly, as though more for show than actual apology. “I didn’t see you there. I am afraid I can be awfully clumsy sometimes!” She says, holding a glass of red wine in one hand and a now-empty plate in the other.

Aelia quickly glances back up at her and gives her a reassuring smile. “No, it’s alright! Don’t worry about it.” She shakes her head, trying to wave it off. The woman gives her a faux-sympathetic pout in return, leaning in closer to whisper so that only Aelia can hear:

“I’d try to clean it for you, but my hands are full and that dowdy old dress needs to go, anyway. You’re welcome.”

Aelia’s smile drops as the woman slips back into her act and walks away with another faux apology, and this isn’t lost on Emet-Selch who has been watching the entire exchange with barely-concealed annoyance. The woman may think herself a good actor, but he can tell an act of spite when he sees one—her muddied soul is practically churning with envy.

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(tbc in a part 2!)

#ffxivwrite2023 #ffxivwrite #emetwol #azemet #emet selch x azem #emet selch x wol #OC: Aelia #another piece set in imperial Garlemald bc I can’t be stopped #ffxiv #emet selch #solus zos galvus #my writing #solia #solus x empress

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